News

October 28, 2005

Springfield Man Wins $50,000 Using Power Play

A Springfield restaurant manager won five times the usual $10,000 prize when he used Power Play and matched four white-ball numbers and the Powerball number in the record $340 million jackpot drawing on Oct. 19 to win a prize of $50,000. Jeremy Reed, 31, said it was the first time he ever played Powerball using the Power Play feature.
"It (using Power Play) made a big difference from paying some of the bills to paying all of the bills," said Reed, who manages Bijan’s restaurant in Springfield.
Reed said he bought his Powerball ticket for the record draw when he stopped at Kum & Go, 609 E. Elm in Springfield, on Oct. 16. He let the computer select his numbers on his winning ticket, and for the first time, he asked the clerk to add the Power Play feature.
"I thought it was an extra $1 for each ticket," he said. "I didn’t realize it was an extra $1 for each combination. When the clerk told me it was $20, I almost didn’t want the ticket."
In addition to paying bills, Reed said he plans to take a vacation with some of the money.
"I haven’t been on a vacation in years," Reed said.
He also plans to use some of the prize money to make a down payment on a house.
For an extra $1 per play, Powerball’s Power Play feature offers the chance to multiply prizes, excluding the jackpot, up to five times the normal payout. After each Wednesday or Saturday Powerball drawing, a wheel is spun to select a number from two to five to determine how much prize, excluding the jackpot, will be multiplied for players who select the Power Play option.
The third-level prize in Powerball recently was increased from $5,000 to $10,000 with a redesign of the game. The second-level prize also was increased from $100,000 to $200,000. The new game design took effect on Aug. 28.
For more information about Powerball and the Power Play feature, go to molottery.com.